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National Hockey League
The National Hockey League, better known as the NHL, is the most proffesional hockey foundation besides the Russian League. NHL has been an organization since November 26, 1917. The league was founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The NHL draws many highly skilled players from all over the world and currently has players from about 20 different countries, including Russians and Canadians. The National Hockey League is where all teams compete to get the Stanley Cup, a trophy that goes to the winners of the season. Some other awards go to certain people, such as the Vezina Trophy, given to the goaltender who is best at that position. History Before the NHL, the league was called the National Hockey Association. It included five teams, which were the Toronto Blueshirts, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, And Quebec Bulldogs. Blushirts' owner Eddie Livingstone called all the team owners to meet him at Windsor Hotel located in Montreal. They got there and talked about the NHA's future. Realizing the league constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, and on November 26, 1917, formed the National Hockey League. While part of a new and improved league, the Bulldogs could not play. The other owners created the Toronto Arenas, to compete with the Canadiens, Wanderers and Senators. The first games were played on December 19, with a 7–4 victory, with the Canadiens beating the Senators. The league nearly collapsed in January 1918 when the Montreal Arena burned down, causing the Wanderers to cease operations and forcing the Canadiens to hastily find a new arena. Toronto won the first title of the league. The Canadiens also won a title in 1919. Expansion In the 1960s, USA wanted to have hockey on television, and that concerns that the WHL (Western Hockey League) would become a proffesional league, and would be able to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Then, the league grew in size, adding the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadephia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, California Seals and St. Louis Blues. People from Canada were raged with madness, seeing all 6 teams were from the United States. Quikly, the league made people happy by adding in the Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres. The NHL fought the WHA for players, losing 67 to the new league in its first season. Adding Teams and Taking Teams The NHL kept adding more and more teams to their league, most of them American. Then, most of the team owners decided to take away teams that were not very popular, like Quebec Nordiques. Fans of the team taken away usually demand another team repersenting the same state or city. Teams The NHL currently has 30 teams, 7 in Canada and 23 in the United States. Of all the major leagues in North America, the NHL is the only league to field teams that play in two countries' capital cities. The NHL was first all Canadian, then American teams became more popualr. Awards The National Hockey League presents a number of trophies each year. Some awards go to certain players, some go to certain teams. The most famous trophy is the Stanley cup, given to the team who wins the season tournament. The Vezina trophy is given to the best goaltender. The Hart Memorial trophy goes to the most valuable player. The best defence gets the James Norris Memorial trophy. Rules The NHL follows the same rules of ice hockey, but differs slightly from the rules if the International ice hockey federation. Infractions of the rules can lead to either the stoppage of play in the case of offside and icing calls, or a penalty call for more serious infractions. During the 2005 lockout, the offside rule changed.The league got rid of the offside pass rule. The changes to the offside rule were among several rule changes intended to increase overall scoring, which had been in decline since the expansion years of the mid-nineties and the increased prevalence of the neutral zone trap. Lockouts Lockouts can occur in many different ways. For example, The 1992 strike was the first strike initiated by the National hockey League Players' Association against the league's owners. The 2012-2013 lockout was an ongoing labour dispute. Nationality Of Players Popularity The NHL is the most watched hockey league in the world. Most fans come from North America, but Europeans come to watch hometown players, such as Alexander Ovechkin, who is Russian. The NHL is considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Hockey Rink National Hockey League games are played on a rink on ice and is surronded by plexiglas. It measures 25.91 by 60.92 metres long. The center line, also known as the red line, is used for face-offs and divides the rink in half. There are two blue lines. One is on the home team's turf, and the other on the visitors' side. Near the end of both ends of the rink, there is a thin red goal line spanning the width of the ice, which is used to judge goals and icing calls. Entry Draft The NHL is held in late June. Amateur players from juniour or Europe are some of the many people who are eligible.The selection order is determined by a combination of the standings at the end of the regular season, playoff results, and a draft lottery. The 14 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs are entered in a weighted lottery to determine the initial draft picks in the first round, with the 30th-place team having the best chance of winning the lottery. Once the lottery determines the initial draft picks, the order for the remaining non-playoff teams is determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. For those teams that did qualify for the playoffs, the draft order is then determined by the order in which they were eliminated, with the Stanley Cup winner getting the 30th and last pick, and the runner-up is given the 29th pick. Organizational structure The NHL Board of Governors is the ruling and governing body of the NHL. In this context, each NHL team is a member of the NHL, and each member appoints a Governor (usually the owner of the club), and two alternates to the Board. The current chairman of the Board is Boston Bruins owner, Jeremy Jacobs. The NHL Board of Governors exists to establish the policies of the NHL, and to uphold its constitution. Some of the responsibilities of the NHL Board of Governors includue: *review and approve any rule changes to the game *hiring and firing of the NHL commissioner *review and approve the purchase, sale, or relocation of any member club. *review and approve the salary caps for member clubs. *review and approve any changes to the structure of the game schedule The Board of Governors meets twice per year, in June and December, with the exact date and place to be fixed by the NHL Commissioner 2012-2013 NHL Teams